


i await a guardian

by eg1701



Series: Lucy Weasley-Wood [15]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, M/M, Patronus, actual conversations with substance, harry as a teacher and an uncle, voldemort discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22140886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eg1701/pseuds/eg1701
Summary: Lucy wants to learn a Patronus charm and asks her uncle to teach her. They chat about Voldemort and happiest memories.
Relationships: Harry Potter & Lucy Weasley, Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Series: Lucy Weasley-Wood [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1399813
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	i await a guardian

**Author's Note:**

> happy new year!
> 
> this has like...actual substance compared to these other ones? i suppose it's a little more heavy than the usual ones but i hope it's not too bad. we'll be back to fluff after this, but to celebrate 15 fics i wanted something with a little more to it. 
> 
> anyway, this is the fifteenth (!) fic in this series i thought no one would read so I just want to thank each and every one of you for sticking with this series. 
> 
> I hope the new year kicks out my writer's block

After the last Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the week, Lucy told her friends she’d meet them in the Great Hall, and took her time putting her things away until the rest of the class had filed out. Professor Potter was now Uncle Harry, and would be much easier to talk to as he erased the day’s lesson from the board and closed his books with a wave of his wand.  


“Uncle Harry?” she asked.  


She didn’t like to call him Uncle Harry in class. It felt unprofessional somehow. She didn’t want people to think she got her grades by being his niece, or she got special treatment or anything. Lucy earned what she got.  


“Lucy,” he smiled and went over to his desk, and shuffling around for something, “What can I do for you?”  


She shouldered her bag and went over to his desk. She twisted one of her braids around her finger while she figured out how she wanted to phrase her request, “I was wondering if you’d teach me to cast a Patronus.”  


He looked up and frowned, “It’s something I teach my NEWT students Lucy, it’s very advanced.”  


“No I know that,” she said, shifting her weight from one side to the other, “It’s only that I know it’s very hard and that not everyone can even do it, so I thought that the sooner I started the better. I read everything I could about it, but it’s something that needs to be practised.”  


He considered this, looking at her over his glasses, “That’s… logical.”  


She smiled, encouraged by this, “I’m willing to practice on weekends or evenings or whatever needs to be done. I know I might not be able to, but I’d like to get a sense of it as early as possible so I can ready myself, and I know it couldn’t hurt to have some knowledge of it for the OWLS in two years but Teddy said his father taught you when you were my age and I think I’m capable of at least a beginning level of-”  


He put up a hand to stop her, “I know much better than to argue with a Weasley about anything. I’ll teach you to the best of my ability. You’ll have to give me some time to get ready. We can start with a few lessons on casting the charm itself, but I’ll try and find a Boggart for actual practice with something at least resembling a Dementor. Does that sound good?  


She nodded, “It does.”  


Uncle Harry sighed and shut his bag, “Go onto lunch now. Your friends are waiting I’m sure. I’ll let you know when I find a space for us to practice. I bet I can get an empty classroom from Flitwick.”  


“Thanks Uncle Harry,” she said.  


“You’re welcome.” He smiled at her, “And privately, Lucy, the OWLS examiner will be thrilled if you can show a fully formed Patronus. Not that I’d know anything about that.”  


He gave her a pointed look and she giggled, “Understood.”  


***  


Three days later, Uncle Harry sent her an owl at breakfast to tell her that Professor Flitwick had an empty classroom they could practise in and that if she wanted to begin, they could start Thursday night. Lucy borrowed Angie’s quill and used the back of the parchment to write back an enthusiastic yes.  


“I still don’t get it,” Angie said, as Lucy returned the quill, “Why do you have to start now?”  


“It’s better to start sooner,” she explained, the same way she’d explained it to Molly, when Molly had expressed similar thoughts, “It’s very difficult magic, and the odds of me learning it outside of Hogwarts are slim. So, if I start now, by the OWLS I might be able to do something, and by our NEWT classes, I’ll be an expert.”  


“It’s actually pretty solid when you think about it,” Juliette said, picking up another slice of toast, “Mum does the same things with her students who show promise. She gives them harder worksheets or readings. And Lucy'll just do it by herself if Professor Potter wouldn’t agree.”  


“You got me there,” Angie agreed, returning to her tea, “Well, you’ll at least tell us about it won’t you? I don’t want to take extra Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I am curious.”  


“Course I will,” Lucy replied, “Shall we head out for the morning, “Care of Magical Creatures first Juliette, your time to shine.”  


Juliette, about halfway through the first year, had decided she wanted to be a Magiczoologist, and had started spending as much time with Hagrid as possible in order to learn as much as she could. Even mentioning the class around her sent her into an excited tangent on whatever creature she’d most recently learned about.  


“Oh yes,” she shoved the last bit of toast into her mouth, “Come on you two, we don’t want to be late.”  


Angie groaned, but pulled her own bag over her shoulders, fixed her tie and stifled a yawn.  


“Oh it’s not that bad,” Lucy teased, “At least it’s not Divination.”  


Angie groaned again, “Don’t remind me.  


***  


Ten minutes before eight, Lucy met Uncle Harry outside of the classroom. He unlocked the door with his wand and held the door open for her.  


He went around the room lighting the candles and fire with a flick of his wand, and Lucy set her bag on the table. It seemed to be an unused classroom, with bits of art and boxes that no one knew what to do with shoved into corners. A cluster of desks sat near the front, and Lucy ran her finger across them, leaving a trail in the dust.  


“Can either of your parents cast a Patronus?” Uncle Harry asked.  


She brushed the dust off on her robes, “Dad can. He said he learned when Voldemort controlled the Ministry.”  


Uncle Harry nodded, “He probably would have done. Do you know what it is?”  


“A crow,” she said, smiling to herself, thinking of the silvery bird she’d seen a few times growing up. She wanted to be able to do that too. In reality, there was so much magic in the world, so many charms and potions and spells that it seemed impossible for one person to learn everything, but she was going to try her hardest.  


Uncle Harry made a noise of interest. She knew that your Patronus form usually had a meaning, but her dad didn’t know what his meant, and said that he’d only ever cast it out of necessity, and to entertain them when they were young. That he didn’t care.  


“We’ll try just casting the spell itself,” Uncle Harry said, sitting on the front desk, like he did during classes, “It’s arguably the easier part, as you’re not facing down a Dementor, but you have to think of the absolute happiest memory you can. Dementors feed off despair and sadness. You have to counteract it.”  


Lucy nodded, “I understand.”  


“When I’ve found a Boggart, we’ll be able to practice with a somewhat legitimate Dementor. I need you to understand Lucy, that this is an extremely difficult charm to cast. A large portion of my NEWT students can barely produce an incorporeal Patronus. You can’t beat yourself up if you can’t produce anything now, or you can now, and can’t when faced with a real Dementor. Alright?”  


She nodded again, “Alright.”  


Uncle Harry sighed, “Close your eyes, and think for a moment. Think of the absolute happiest memory that you have Lucy. And when you’ve got it firmly in your mind, you say the incantation, Expecto Patronum. Right?”  


“Uncle Harry?”  


“Hmm?”  


Lucy looked down at the ground, and then back up, “Can I ask something first?”  


“Course. What’s up?”  


“Lots of people say that Dark wizards can’t produce a Patronus. I know that Slytherin isn’t the evil house, but you don’t think-”  


Uncle Harry put up a hand, “Lucy I thought we’d moved past all of that?”  


She shrugged, “I don’t know. I just know it’s something really hard to do, and you’ve got to be good at heart or whatever it is-”  


“Lucy, I promise you that your house has nothing to do with your ability to cast this spell. You’re making yourself nervous because you think you won’t be able to do it. You’re saying nonsense about an old stereotype that wasn’t even true. I’ve seen people from every house cast this spell. It has nothing to do with any of that. Alright? Why don’t you give it a shot and see?”  


She nodded, resigned, and muttered the incantation to herself while she pulled out her wand.  


***  


Lucy was tired when she trekked back down to the dungeons after her lesson. Uncle Harry told her she did well, but she’d only managed a few silvery wisps. It wasn’t even close to any kind of form. But he refused to stay much later, citing the fact that her parents would have his head if he worked her too hard.  


She retold the lesson to her friends while she got ready for bed.  


“That’s really significant though,” Juliette told her, which she knew was just Juliette trying to make her feel better, “I bet I couldn’t do that.”  


“Bet you could,” Lucy replied, but smiled nonetheless, “It’s alright. Uncle Harry said that it’s promising.”  


“You’ll figure it out Lucy,” Angie said, setting down her Charms book, “You’ll be fine. Professor Potter wouldn’t be bothering now if he didn’t think you could. He’d have written to your parents and put a stop to all this.”  


Lucy laughed and blew out the candle next to her bed, “That’s a good point actually.”  


“Hey it’s Hogsmeade this weekend. You guys want to go?” Juliette asked.  


“Of course,” the other two replied together.  


Juliette nodded, “I told Mum I’d send her something. Will you guys help me find some sweets for her or something?”  


“Sure Jules,” Angie said, blowing out her own candle, “Goodnight you two.”  


“Night Angie,” Lucy said, rolling over.  


She fell asleep trying to think of her happiest memory.  


***  


After nearly two months of lessons without a Dementor, Lucy managed to cast a real Patronus. Her silvery mist had an actual shape, much to her own surprise, and Uncle Harry’s amusement.  


“It’s a lynx I think,” Uncle Harry said, jumping up, “Very well done Lucy.”  


She wasn’t sure how long she would be able to keep it up, but the silvery Patronus turned to her and jumped over, landing like a cat. She’d never seen a lynx in person, but the books she’d read described them in their list of known Patronus forms.  


“You can let it go now,” Uncle Harry said, putting a hand out. Lucy broke her concentration, and the lynx faded away, “You alright?”  


Lucy nodded, and tucked her wand into her robes, “I thought about when my parents told us about Voldemort. I didn’t think of it at first cause I don’t suppose it’s necessarily happy.”  


“Will you tell me about it?” Uncle Harry asked.  


Lucy sat down on the step, her legs stretched out in front of her. She’d ripped her a hole in her tights earlier, but only just noticed it now.  


“We asked them, I don’t know, I guess I was probably seven or so. Molly hadn’t started school yet. We wanted to know about Voldemort. They don’t talk about the war very much. No one does I guess. But we wanted to know. Should we call him that? We had questions.”  


“I can’t remember you ever not calling him by his name,” Uncle Harry noted.  


“Dad said, ‘Lucy, Molly, he’s dead, and he can’t hurt you anymore. You say his name because he died like everyone else.’”  


“Was that Percy? It sounds like him”  


Lucy nodded, “Then Molly asked him why we could say his name when they still didn’t. I remember this conversation so clearly now. I don’t know why it sticks in my head. But he looked at us, right in the eye and said ‘you say his name because you’ll never have to know him. You’ll never know him as anything other than a name in your history books. And that’s what you deserve.’”  


Uncle Harry sighed, “Yes. We try to create a better world for our children.”  


She swallowed and looked over at him, “Dad said that it was terrifying. Not knowing if he was really dead, then when he came back.”  


“It was,” Uncle Harry seemed to be somewhere else, maybe back in the war, maybe earlier. She noticed her parents got that look sometimes, when someone brought up the battle in particular.  


“It’s when we finally asked about our birth parents. There were lots of war babies, I know that,” Lucy pulled at her sleeve, “But did they know our parents?”  


“I don’t think so right?” Uncle Harry said.  


“That’s what they told us. That we were probably Half Bloods or maybe even Muggle Born, children whose parents were so terrified of what the war could bring, or who had lost their lives to it, leaving us behind regardless. Maybe left us with Muggle family members who didn’t know what to do.”  


She and Molly never really discussed this with their family. Obviously they were adopted, but they’d always been just as much of a Weasley as their cousins. It felt strange to be having this conversation with her uncle. It was something in the back of her mind, but she rarely gave it any weight.  


“It’s more than likely they were killed, especially Molly’s. She was born in ‘98 wasn’t she?”  


Lucy nodded, “I remember asking dad a few days later, what all of that meant. I guess I was still too young to understand it all. But he smiled and said, ‘it means that your father and I get a chance to give you girls a home, and it means that you’re always going to be safe.’”  


“Voldemort is gone Lucy,” Uncle Harry said. He was one of the only family members who said his name with no hesitation, “He can never hurt anybody again.”  


She nodded, “I know. And that’s what I was thinking about. We talk about Voldemort in our classes like it was so long ago but it wasn’t. I don’t know. It’s just what I decided to try. I guess it was enough.”  


“You should get to bed Lucy. You did very well tonight and you should be proud of yourself. Write to your parents. They’ll be proud too.”  


“I will,” she stood up and brushed off her skirt, “Goodnight Uncle Harry.”  


“Goodnight Lucy.”

**Author's Note:**

> you know where to find me!
> 
> i have a lot of thoughts on raising a hogwarts generation post voldemort, and this is only a bit of them, but i'm always down to hear your headcanons on the weasleys and their kids! 
> 
> thanks as always for reading! I wish you all nothing but a happy and healthy new year.


End file.
